Wakaichiro Ken

Wakaichirō Ken (若一郎 健; born July 7, 1998, as Ichiro Kendrick Young) is a former professional sumo wrestler with the Musashigawa stable from Houston, Texas. He retired after earning his highest career rank, sandanme 32.

Background Ichiro Kendrick Young was born in 1998 in Houston, Texas to a Japanese mother and African American father. Young did not have a sumo background before joining the professional sport. Although he played football until the age of 14, he then went to Quest Early College High School and gave up sports because of the academic workload. However, his mother urged him to give sumo a try, regarding his short and stocky build as ideal. he joined Musashigawa stable in November 2016 and was given the shikona of Wakaichirō, meaning Young Ichiro and hence a literal translation of his real name. and his possession of Japanese nationality means he did not count against the Association's one-foreigner-per-heya quota. He returned to Houston to seek a new career. His retirement left no Americans in professional sumo.

With a high-profile ex-yokozuna as its stablemaster, Musashigawa stable has had many visitors from other sports and as a consequence Wakaichirō met Max Holloway of the UFC and Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks. Wakaichirō himself is a Houston Texans fan.

Career record